New and Weird
by VoiceOfReason1
Summary: Rachel, a girl from England has just started Domino High School. She befriends the bullied Yugi and Ryou, making enemies in the process. Will she find love amongst all the fighting? Chapter 3 is now up.
1. The rescue

Story - New and Weird.  
  
Written by Rachel, a.k.a. VoiceOfReason  
  
/\/\/\***/\/\/\ - Change of scene or time period.  
  
"Person speaking"  
  
'Person thinking'  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Rachel: Alright, this is my first fanfic, so...let's just see how it turns out.  
  
Yugi: I'm sure you'll do fine. ^-^  
  
Bakura: Pfft...yeah right.  
  
Rachel: *Hits Bakura over the head with a frying pan* Shut up, you!  
  
Bakura: *Rubs head and walks off, mumbling something about revenge and a stuffed monkey*  
  
Rachel: o_o; Anyways...the basic story line is of an English girl starting school, making enemies, friends and more. *Winks* No Millennium items or anything, just a normal-ish school life. Her name is, amazingly, Rachel. And she likes to fight, as I'm sure you'll find out.  
  
Yugi: Don't forget about me! *Does puppy-dog eyes*  
  
Rachel: *Huggles* we could never forget about you, you're so Kawaii! *Pinches cheeks*  
  
Yugi: ^_^ Don't forget about the Disclaimer either.  
  
Rachel: The what?  
  
Yugi: You know, the thing you say to people so you don't get sued?  
  
Rachel: Uh... *Blank expression*  
  
Yugi: *Rolls eyes* Rachel does not own Yu-Gi-Oh, or any of the characters in this fanfic. Except maybe Rachel...but for safety...we'll just say she doesn't own her either.  
  
Rachel: Oh, that! *Laughs all embarrassed like*  
  
Yugi: *Falls over anime style*  
  
Rachel: *Blinks* Anyways...on with the ficcy! ^_^  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 1: The rescue.  
  
"P-please, d-d-don't hurt me..." His voice was barely a whisper.  
  
A small boy, looking around the age of 10 was cowering in a corner, tears streaming down his face. He was trapped; he had nowhere to run.  
  
"Aww, but that would ruin all my fun!" a voice sneered, "And you don't want me to get angry now, do you?" his voice sharpened, chocolate brown eyes were glaring coldly at the young-looking boy.  
  
"No...o-of course not..." he closed his once sparkling purple eyes, normally filled with innocence and purity, now red from all the crying, waiting for the beating to come.  
  
The brown-eyed boy laughed, "You're so pathetic." He spat out.  
  
The smaller boy could do nothing but stand there and await his punishment. 'Punishment?' He thought, 'what have I done wrong? What have I ever done to anybody? Oh, that's right...' He sighed sadly, 'I was born. I breathed. I just happened to be walking along when I was attacked by one of the school's bullies who decided to have some fun.' (AN: *cries*)  
  
"Well?" the taller boy smirked, "Any last words before I ruin that innocent little face of yours?" He walked forwards, slowly closing the gap between himself and his victim.  
  
The smaller boy opened his eyes; tears were still flowing down his cheeks, he shook his head slowly.  
  
"I thought as much." He grabbed the boy's shirt and pushed him against the wall, smirking as he saw the boy's body shaking with fear. Bringing his knee up, he kicked the smaller boy directly in the stomach then let go of his shirt, causing the boy to fall to the floor, doubled over in pain.  
  
The small boy groaned as he felt pain sweep all through his body, but he knew it was far from over. He felt another sharp pain in his ribs, as he was continually kicked there. He began to feel faint; he thought he was going to die, when he heard a voice shout. Was someone calling to him? He couldn't make out the words. Maybe he was going to heaven and his angel was calling him. Yes, that was it... He felt another wave of pain go through him as he received a blow to the head. Everything blacked out.  
  
"Hey, you!" someone shouted. The boy looked up, annoyance clear on his face.  
  
"What?! I'm busy here!"  
  
"Busy trying to kill some poor boy?!" the voice snorted. His eyes narrowed at the person now challenging him.  
  
"What's it to you? Want to join him?" he barked, he could not believe that someone was talking to him like this. Him, the most feared guy in the school! He felt his anger rising even more as the person laughed at his threat. "What is so funny?" He yelled. His tone of voice would have frightened anyone, even the bravest of teachers. Not this person.  
  
"Well, yes, as a matter of fact I do." The person was not smiling, but glared at the chocolate-coloured eyes, amusement clear in her (A/N: Yes. A girl!) voice.  
  
The boy snarled; losing what little patience he had. "You won't find it funny when I slam my fist into your face!"  
  
The challenger smiled sweetly, tilting her head to the side. "What? You wouldn't hurt lil' old me, would you?"  
  
"Just watch me!" The boy lunged for the cocky girl who dared to mock him, only to find himself punching air as she stepped to the side. His body was shaking with anger. He was determined to make this girl pay. She was only a girl. There was no way she could even hurt him. (A/N: *Glares*) He turned to face her once again, fire burning in his eyes.  
  
"You're going to pay for mocking me!" He spat.  
  
"Really now?" She laughed, raising her eyebrow at his comment. "I'd like to see you land a punch."  
  
The boy just stood there. Trying not to let his anger get the better of him. There was no point in just charging at her, she appeared to be pretty fast.  
  
"Well?" She demanded, "I'm getting bored. I don't have all day." She yawned.  
  
That was it. A girl mocking him, he could deal with, he'd just insult her back and be on his way. Sure, he was one of the most infamous people of the school, but he wasn't going to hit a girl. This time, however, he could make an exception. Then again...he didn't recognize this girl. He would have seen her around. She must be new. But that gave her no reason to speak to him like this. Now unable to control his temper, he lunged for her again. She was ready for him. She stepped to the side again, and reached across, grabbing his hand, twisting it in her grasp. He felt a sharp pain in his hand, and gasped, in a state of shock. She grabbed his snowy white hair and slammed him against a nearby locker.  
  
"Having fun?" The girl hissed in his ear. He could do nothing. This girl somehow had him in an iron grip. "Well you're not much of a challenge, are you?" She scoffed. She slowly pulled him away from the locker, only to slam him against it once again. He yelped in pain, and she smiled at the result. She let him go, not wanting to hurt him too much. Well, that wasn't true. She wanted to...well; she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. Just hurt him a lot. (A/N: *Sweatdrops* Writer's block, okay?) He groaned and fell to the ground, lifeless. She smiled with satisfaction, staring at the bully with cold eyes. She was about to walk away, when she heard a soft moan coming from the corner of the corridor. Her eyes softened as she walked over to the waking boy. She shook him slightly, not wanting to scare him.  
  
He moaned again, his eyelids fluttered slightly, slowly opening. His head hurt so much. Everything hurt so much. He blinked, trying to get his eyes to focus but to no avail. He gasped as he saw a dark shadow looming above him, but unable to tell whom it was. What if it was Bakura and he wasn't done with his torment yet? He scrambled backwards, but was unable to go far as his back met the wall, feeling the pain of his beating in doing so. He trembled in fear and looked up, expecting to see a less-than-happy Bakura. But what he saw was not Bakura. It was a tanned, pretty looking girl with long brown hair that was red at the tips. Her hazel eyes were softened in concern.  
  
"Are you okay?" She slowly extended her hand, to help the poor boy up. He flinched and closed his eyes, expecting to be hit. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you." She whispered softly.  
  
He said nothing, just looked up at her with wide purple-coloured eyes, the fear clear for the girl to see. It had to be a trick. She'd wait till he had his guard down, and then she'd hurt him, too. Everyone did. He felt tears rolling down his cheeks once more as the feeling of being alone, and the fear of being hurt again set in.  
  
"Oh...please don't cry...I won't hurt you, I promise." She sighed, looking at the pathetic sight in front of her. It pained her to see such things going on in the world. Sure, moments ago she had shown no mercy. But that baka deserved it.  
  
"...H-how much do you want?" She had to lean in closer to catch his barely audible words.  
  
"What?" She asked, clearly confused.  
  
"M-money. That is w-what you came to me for, r-right?" He was still shaking in fear, the whole Bakura experience had not left him yet. The girl laughed sadly.  
  
"I don't want your money. I just thought you might need some help, that's all." She smiled.  
  
"Help?" He looked around, and gasped in utter disbelief as he saw Bakura motionless on the ground. Forgetting his fear for a moment, he turned back to the girl and asked in awe, "Did you do that?" The girl nodded slightly, scratching the back of her head.  
  
"Well, yeah...but he deserved it." The small boy nodded, but fear sunk in once again.  
  
"Is...is he...dead?" He gulped, not wanting to be in the presence of a killer. She couldn't help it, the girl burst into laughter.  
  
"Of course not! I'm not a killer, if that's what you're thinking." She looked at him, tilting her head slightly, with a glint in her eyes. As soon as the glint had appeared, it was gone. "Seriously, are you okay? It looks like that guy gave you quite a beating there."  
  
"I-I think so." He felt the back of his head and winced at the pain. His whole body ached, and he was sure he'd end up with at least one black eye. His crimson, black and blonde hair, usually spiked up with gel, was a complete mess. The girl frowned slightly.  
  
"Well I don't." She extended her hand once again, and smiled to see the small boy take it. She helped him get up slowly.  
  
"It's okay, I'll be fine." He couldn't look her in the eyes; he suddenly found the floor extremely interesting. She frowned again. "What did you do to that ass anyway?"  
  
"Well...I..." He looked up at her; she raised her eyebrows, waiting for an answer. "Nothing."  
  
"What do you mean, "nothing"? Surely you must have done something to make him do that to you?" The small boy shook his head sadly.  
  
"I must have been in his way, and he must have been in a bad mood...and I'm normally used for the more popular people to push around anyway. Me and a few others..." What he said shocked her. Where she came from, sure, bullying existed, but it was nothing compared to this. (A/N: Yeah right...) She looked on as more tears fell down the boy's cheeks. She felt so sorry for the poor boy. He looked so innocent, much like a child. But she noted by the uniform he wore that he must be around the age of fifteen. She walked towards him and took him in her arms. This action shocked the boy, but he simply cried into her shoulder. She stood there with the boy in her arms, rocking him gently as his crying eventually stopped. She let him go and he stepped back a little, giving her a weak smile. "Thanks...for what you did for me just now." She smiled warmly at the boy before her.  
  
"By the way, what's your name?"  
  
"It's Yugi. Yugi Mutou."  
  
"Wow, what a weird name." She smiled. "I'm Rachel. Rachel Miller." (A/N: Original, huh? No, that's not MY name.) Yugi laughed slightly.  
  
"Speak for yourself. Your name is just as weird. But I don't see what's so strange about mine."  
  
"Ah. You see, I'm new here; that much I'm sure you're aware of. But I come from England. And, well, I seem to be getting lost pretty easily around here. You wouldn't mind giving me a personal tour tomorrow, would you?" (A/N: It's the end of school right now.) Yugi blinked, slightly surprised. This new girl wanted him to show her around? Even after she'd seen how pathetic he was. Surely she was up to something. But she seemed so warm and genuine. He was confused.  
  
"Um..well..." he stammered, he was never very good around people he didn't know. 'Damn, that was supposed to be a, "Yes. Of course I will." Well that turned out great. Now she's going to think you're stupid.' Rachel just laughed. Before he could stop himself, he spoke aloud.  
  
"You laugh at a lot of things, don't you?" Proving his point, she laughed again.  
  
"Well yeah. I like to look at things positively. Maybe too positive for some peoples' liking. But it beats being depressed all the time." Yugi just nodded shyly. This girl seemed quite strange. Maybe that's what all the people in England were like.  
  
"Are all people in England as...nice as you?" He blushed slightly at his comment; he didn't want to offend her by asking if all English people were weird.  
  
"Not really. I'm one of a kind." She winked and grinned at Yugi, who just gave her a small smile. 'This boy sure is shy. But I'll get him to open up. I'm sure he'll make a great friend.' "So...are you willing to give me the grand tour, or will I have to wander aimlessly around till I eventually find my way?" She pouted at him. All he could do was laugh.  
  
"Since you put it that way, sure, why not."  
  
"Alright!" She held up her hand for him to high five. He just stared at it dumbly. "Uh...you're supposed to high five my hand..."  
  
"Oh..." He blushed again; no one but Ryou had ever been this nice to him. Even tried to hold a conversation with him. This girl sure was nice. He just hoped she didn't secretly want to hurt him. He hoped she would be his friend. He was short on friends. Ryou was maybe the only real friend he had. Unfortunately for him, other people liked to pick on him, too.  
  
"Never mind," she laughed once again, "Hey, you wouldn't mind if I hung out with you, would you? I mean, being new and all, people just act as if you're not there. Either that or stare at you as if you're some kind of alien." Yugi nodded, laughing slightly, unable to hold his excitement.  
  
"Great!" she exclaimed, gleefully. She looped her arm through his and started walking towards the exit. He had to quicken his pace to catch up to how fast Rachel was walking, he drew in his breath at the sharp pain he felt in his ribs. Rachel noticed this and slowed down. Yugi sighed thankfully and smiled at her. She smiled back."Let's get outta here. I hate staying in school longer than you have to."  
  
"Yeah, me too." He grinned.  
  
They walked home together, talking about what things they liked, what homework they had and what music they listened to. Like him, Rachel played Duel Monsters. Though she was new to the game, and didn't have many cards. Yugi offered to teach her how to play and she was bouncing up and down when she found out his Grandpa was the owner of a game shop. They eventually went their separate ways, after agreeing to walk to school together the next morning.  
  
/\/\/\***/\/\/\  
  
"I'm home, Grandpa!" Yugi shouted happily. He would have run up the stairs he was that happy, but the earlier encounter with Bakura made him unable him to do so.  
  
"Yugi!" His Grandpa gasped, walking into the room to greet his Grandson. "What happened to you?"  
  
"Oh...it was nothing really." He shrugged; care free about what had happened earlier. He couldn't understand why he was acting this way. Neither could his Grandpa.  
  
"If you say so. But let's get you cleaned up." Yugi just nodded slightly, following his Grandpa into the living room. He sat there patiently as his Grandpa sorted out his wounds and put some ointment on his eye to prevent it from bruising. (A/N: I don't even know if there is such a thing. But this is my ficcy, so there.) He wasn't paying attention to anything his Grandpa was saying. He had made a new friend. A nice, cool, funny one at that. He was sure life would be much better from now on, not to mention interesting. Rachel sure was unusual.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Rachel: Yay! I finished! Well, I'm not sure whether it was too short or too long or what, cause it's my first ficcy! I'm also having trouble working out how to sort out how things are laid out. You know, the few html codes you can use? -.-; It's all so confusing... Any helpful tips would be appreciated. ^-^ Ack, my fingers ache...  
  
Bakura: Quit complaining. YOU didn't get beaten up! Besides, you didn't even write it all at once. You wrote some yesterday, and you just finished it now.  
  
Rachel: Well...that's not the point...  
  
Yugi: Nope. It's over and done with, just be quiet, Bakura! I'm sure this isn't the only time you get beaten up... and by a girl. *Sniggers*  
  
Bakura: *Growls* Watch it, you!  
  
Yugi: *Runs and hides behind Rachel*  
  
Rachel: Leave the poor boy alone, Bakura! Or I'll make sure you get beaten up in every chapter I write!  
  
Bakura: *Gulps* Gah...fine! *Storms off again*  
  
Rachel: Well, what did you think? I hope it's not too bad. It is my first fic after all.  
  
Yugi: Yeah, give the girl some credit. *Claps* R and R people! Be nice! ^_^ 


	2. Things aren't always as they appear

Story - New and Weird.  
  
Written by Rachel, a.k.a. VoiceOfReason  
  
/\/\/\***/\/\/\ - Change of scene or time period.  
  
"Person speaking"  
  
'Person thinking'  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Rachel: Alright, before I lose my train of thought, I'll get to work on the second chapter! Uh... *Blinks, with a blank expression on her face*  
  
Bakura: *Smacks his forehead* You're hopeless!  
  
Rachel: It's not my fault I have a bad memory!  
  
Bakura: With all the bashing to the head you give me, it ought to be me with the bad memory! .;  
  
Rachel: *Laughs slightly* You know I love you! ^_^ *Huggles him*  
  
Bakura: Meep! *Struggles to get away*  
  
Rachel: *Lets go and pouts* ;-;  
  
Yugi: Aww, look what you did! *Huggles Rachel*  
  
Rachel: *Huggles back and sticks her tongue out at Bakura*  
  
Bakura: *Makes vomiting noises and walks off*  
  
Yugi: *Giggles* He's just jealous!  
  
Rachel: Yup! Anyway, I think I've got this Disclaimer thing. I don't own Yu- Gi-Oh, or any of the characters in this fic. I can just make them do whatever I want! ^-^  
  
Yugi: Yeah...that'll do... On with the ficcy!  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 2: Things aren't always as they appear.  
  
Rachel smiled as she walked home, whistling quietly to herself. She had made her first new friend. By the looks of it, her first enemy, too. But she didn't care. It wasn't something she couldn't handle. She stopped when she reached a junction. She couldn't remember the way home. She mentally kicked herself.  
  
"Argh! I'm so stupid!" She yelled aloud, unaware of a presence behind her. She whirled around as she heard a light cough.  
  
"And why is that?" An amused voice asked. She looked at the person questioning her, her hazel eyes staring into cold blue ones.  
  
"Uh..." She was lost for words; she didn't know someone had been behind her. How long had he been there? She blushed furiously, not about to tell a stranger, a very handsome stranger, that she had forgotten how to get home.  
  
He chuckled slightly, watching the girl with an intense stare. His eyes wandered from hers, looking her over. She was a fair bit smaller than he, and she had long brown hair with red tips. Her tan complimenting the colour of her hair. Her warm, hazel eyes completed the ensemble. Right now her cheeks were a bright red colour, matching the tips of her hair. He had to admit, she looked odd. Cute, but odd. She was wearing the Domino High uniform. 'So she goes to my school,' he mused. 'She must be new; I've never seen her around. And I definitely would have.'  
  
She took in the image before her. A tall boy with unruly brown hair and a light tan. He had cold blue eyes, she shivered, and she could tell just by looking in his eyes he wasn't a gentle and caring person. He had a lean, handsome face, his bangs partially covering his piercing blue eyes. He was wearing black leather pants and a tight black t-shirt, his muscles obvious to see. (A/N: Sorry, but I don't like the trench coat look or anything, so I'm giving him one of my own. ^^; And sorry if it's somewhat like the clothes Yami would wear) He had something around his neck. She had to squint to see what it was. It was some sort of collar. 'How weird,' she thought. 'No one back home would wear something like that. Unless they were trying to make some sort of statement...' He had a look of pure amusement on his face, and she took a small step backwards, realizing she'd been staring. He raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Are you lost or something?" He laughed. She winced at the harshness of his voice. She glared at him, which quickly turned into a look of embarrassment.  
  
"Well...Um..." she stammered, something about this guy made her feel uneasy. She had never found it so hard to talk to someone. She was both relieved and frightened when a familiar red car pulled to a stop near them. The tinted window was wound down to reveal an angry-looking man in his mid forties.  
  
"Rachel! There you are! Where the hell have you been?!" He yelled, not bothering to hide the anger in his voice. Dread and fear filled Rachel. She hated it when her Father got angry. He could get quite...violent at times. And most of the time she was the one used to vent his anger.  
  
"I was walking through school, and a small boy was being picked on and I-"  
  
"I don't want to hear your excuses! Get in the car. NOW!"  
  
"Yes Father..." Her voice was filled with fear, she gulped slightly. She looked at the boy for a brief moment. He no longer had a look of amusement on his face. His expression was unreadable. He mouthed the words; 'Will you be okay?' to her. This action startled her slightly. From their brief encounter, he seemed to be quite apathetic of the world around him. She smiled weakly and nodded. By the look on his face he wasn't convinced. To be honest she didn't really care. She just shrugged and ran to the car, getting in the front beside her 'Father'.  
  
He wasn't really her Father of course. Both her parents had died when she was young. She had been an orphan for a few years before a couple adopted her. The man, Mr. Ryan Miller, was quiet and bitter; he held resentment towards the child. He made it so she knew that. The woman, Mrs. Sarah Miller, however, was extremely kind and treated Rachel as though she were her own daughter. Rachel's happiness had not lasted long, as due to very unfortunate circumstances, (A/N: I might go into details later.) Sarah passed away. Leaving Rachel in the care of Mr. Miller. He had loved his wife dearly and blamed Rachel for her death. Beating her and telling her she was worthless. Many nights Rachel cried herself to sleep, unable to defend herself against her extremely violent 'Father'.  
  
She remained silent as they made their way home. She simply gazed out the window, marking the street names in her mind, making sure she wouldn't forget the way home the next day. If she lived that long...  
  
/\/\/\***/\/\/\  
  
Seto Kaiba frowned as the red car pulled out and drove quickly away. He didn't like that man. Not that he liked the girl that much either. But there was something threatening in the way he spoke to his daughter. Rachel? Yes, that was her name. His tone was not one of a worried parent searching for his child, but one of enraged and cold-hearted man. 'Remind you of anyone?' He asked himself bitterly. He shook his thoughts from his mind. What business was it of his anyway? He had his own things to worry about. He frowned, remembering he had to get home to continue his work. He made his way home, thinking out what things he had to do and what alterations were needed. Making sure he pushed all thoughts of the strange new girl out of his head. He would have to talk to her later. Not understanding why he even cared. But there was something about this girl he couldn't quite place. She wasn't from around here; that was sure. He hit himself on the head slightly. 'Stop thinking about her! You don't even know her!' He sighed once more as he arrived at his driveway, pressing the intercom button.  
  
"Hello? Who is it?" A young boy asked.  
  
"Mokuba? It's me. Seto."  
  
"Welcome home big brother!" Mokuba exclaimed, pressing a button, causing the large gates to slowly open. Seto smiled and made his way up the driveway. His smile quickly turned into a frown as he remembered all the work he would have to do. He put his hand on the doorknob, turning it, and made his way inside. Tonight would be a long night.  
  
/\/\/\***/\/\/\  
  
"Rachel? Are you sure you're okay? You don't look so good." Yugi peered up at his newfound friend, his wide purple orbs filled with concern. Rachel simply shook her head, waving a hand in the air dismissively.  
  
"Yeah yeah, I'm fine. It's just early and I'm kinda tired." She smiled cheerily at him. Lying like this had got easier over the years. Luckily for her, she had got away with just receiving a light beating and being sent to bed with nothing to eat. She rubbed her arm, knowing underneath her school jumper were purple bruises from where her Father had grabbed her to prevent her from running. To some it might have been considered heartless. To her, however, it was routine.  
  
"Alright then." He smiled back, suddenly remembering something, "Oh, Rachel? I also walk to school with my friend Ryou. You don't mind if we go to his house to pick him up on the way, do you?"  
  
"Ryou? Oh, that friend of yours you told me about yesterday? Sure! I'd love to meet him." Her hazel eyes showed excitement. She loved meeting new people. "Is he as kind hearted as you are?" Yugi nodded and blushed slightly. "He's one of the nicest people I've met!"  
  
"Apart from me of course." She chuckled, winking. Yugi grinned.  
  
"Naturally." She stuck her tongue out at him, and then noticed his attention was diverted to something, rather someone, in front of them. She looked up and blinked. The boy quite a way in front of them had shoulder -length snowy white hair, which spiked out slightly. He hadn't noticed them yet. She frowned. Wasn't that Bakura? Rachel looked back at Yugi, who was now waving frantically and jumping up and down.  
  
"Ryou! Ryou! Over here!" Yugi grinned as Ryou heard his name being called and turned in their direction, walking towards them. Once he had approached them he examined Rachel nervously, then raised his eyebrows at Yugi.  
  
Rachel was confused. The boy in front of her looked just like Bakura. He had the same hair and eyes as the baka she had fought the previous day, but his features were softer and somewhat feminine compared to Bakura's. She also noticed that he was slightly shorter, too. He was also a lot cuter than Bakura, whose cold and uncaring looks Rachel found quite scary. This boy on the other hand, had an innocence about him. Her brain hurt.  
  
"Ahh...my head hurts. I'm so confused!" She received amused glances from both boys. "Would you mind telling me what's going on?" She frowned once more. Not being able to understand things got her frustrated. Yugi tilted his head to the side slightly and grinned.  
  
"Rachel, this is Ryou Bakura. Ryou, this is Rachel Miller." They shook hands and bowed slightly, in a formal greeting. "Okay, well, it's quite strange really. He looks like Bakura, and his last name is Bakura's first, but they are not related in any way. And he's so much nicer than that creep is." Rachel nodded slowly, eventually understanding.  
  
"Well...that's all very confusing." She frowned, scratching the back of her head. She suddenly shook her head and smiled brightly. "Oh well! Let's go to school before we're late!" She skipped ahead of the boys, humming a tune as she did so. The boys sweatdropped and exchanged glances. Noticing that the boys were still stood there she turned around to face them. "Well? Are you coming or what?" Yugi simply shook his head and grinned at Ryou, who was looking slightly scared.  
  
"Yes, Rachel. But...please refrain from acting so, uh..." He suddenly stopped talking. Ryou shot him an 'oh-great-now-you're-going-to-upset-the- crazy-girl' look.  
  
"Weird?" She tilted her head to the side and grinned at the two boys, finishing Yugi's sentence for him. "I apologize if my social behaviour is not to your standard." Bowing slightly, she gave Ryou and Yugi a mischievous smile.  
  
Ryou burst into laughter at the weird girl's antics. She winked at him, causing him to blush slightly. Yugi chuckled softly at the two. "Yes, you are quite weird." Ryou nodded, almost as if agreeing with his own statement, smiling.  
  
"No kidding." Yugi rolled his eyes, giggling. Rachel kept her eyes on Ryou, smiling to herself. She suddenly shook her head, as if to get rid of her thoughts. Yugi looked at Rachel and raised an eyebrow. Noticing this, she blushed slightly, turned around and started to skip again. Realizing what she was doing she stopped abruptly and starting walking instead. Yugi shook his head and sighed, raising his eyes to the heavens as if to say 'why me?' When really, inside he was happier than he'd been for some time.  
  
The three walked to school chatting contentedly, though it was mainly Ryou and Rachel doing the talking, getting to know each other better. Yugi was adding comments every now and again, but mainly listening, as he already knew most of what was being said. Rachel found out Bakura was also from England, but he was from a more Southern part of the country, whereas Rachel was from Yorkshire (A/N: For you non-English people out there, that's the place where all the farmers are said to live. I'm not a farmer. *Frowns*)  
  
"It's so much better here," she pointed to the houses and trees around them. "The weather is a big improvement to back home. I hate the rain." Ryou nodded, laughing slightly.  
  
"I know what you mean. It hardly ever rains here."  
  
"Sorry to interrupt your extremely exciting conversation," Yugi piped in, rolling his eyes. "But we're at the school now."  
  
Rachel frowned. She really didn't like school. And if Bakura were anything like the person she thought he was, he'd be waiting for them outside school with a group of his equally sadistic friends. She glanced in the direction of the building, frowning once more. She was right. There was Bakura, a guy with spiked up blonde, black and crimson hair, a slutty-looking girl with brown hair, two other guys; one with blonde hair and the other with short brown spiked up hair. Rachel narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists. She set off, determined, towards the school. Yugi and Ryou followed behind nervously, giving each other wary glances. Rachel walked right up to the group of people. Who, surprisingly, were blocking the way into the school.  
  
"Well well well." Bakura smirked. Rachel frowned. "Fancy meeting you here?" He spat, taking a step towards Rachel, Ryou and Yugi. His friends did the same. Ryou gulped, and Yugi let out a small cry of panic. Bakura smirked and walked towards the two small boys, cracking the knuckles of his left hand with his right.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Rachel: Well there it is - the second chapter. There's not really been any romance so far, sorry about that. I just wanted to get a few details down first. I'm not really proud of that chapter. But oh well. Hopefully they'll get better as I write more.  
  
Yugi: They will! *Smiles all cute like at Rachel*  
  
Bakura: *Rolls eyes* Yeah. When pigs fly.  
  
Rachel: *Ignores Bakura's comment* Sorry about the depressing part with Rachel, and all the violence and stuff that's in this ficcy. I guess I'm just a violent person; it's what I've been told anyways...  
  
Yugi: That can't be a good thing. o_o;  
  
Bakura: Sure it is. Anyway, R and R! And I'm not asking. *Narrows eyes in a threatening manner*  
  
Rachel: *Shoves Bakura away* Don't listen to him. Any criticism will be taken with gratitude, and any helpful comments are appreciated. *Bows humbly and skips off, humming*  
  
Yugi: *Sweatdrops* So that's where she got it from... 


	3. Fighting and flirting

Story - New and Weird.  
  
Written by Rachel, a.k.a. VoiceOfReason  
  
/\/\/\***/\/\/\ - Change of scene or time period.  
  
"Person speaking"  
  
'Person thinking'  
  
Warnings: Slight mentioning of yaoi - More to come in future chapters. And while we're on the warnings, things might get more violent as the story goes on. No, not just between Bakura and Rachel, though it's going to be fun making Bakura get hurt. *Cackles* But between Rachel and her father. I might need to raise the rating, but I'm not sure yet. *Shrugs*  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Rachel: I finally realized how you get html into the chapters. I'm so stupid. It was right there in front of me, I just didn't bother to read it.  
  
Bakura: Yes, well, that's you perfectly, isn't it?  
  
Rachel: ...Huh?  
  
Bakura. See. You're stupid. S-t-u-p-  
  
Yugi: *Hits Bakura on the head with Rachel's frying pan*  
  
Bakura: *Curses, clutching his head* You'll pay for that, temee! *Runs for Yugi*  
  
Rachel: *Holds up Bobo, Bakura's bed time teddy bear, holding a knife to its throat* Lay a hand on Yugi and Bobo gets it!  
  
Bakura: O_O!! Bobo! NO! *Stops chasing Yugi and starts to cry*  
  
Yugi: I-I'm out of here, that's just too freaky for words... *Walks off mumbling something about a psychiatrist*  
  
Rachel: *Throws the knife away and hugs Bakura, giving him his teddy bear* Aww, poor Bakura...  
  
Bakura: *Hugs back, sniffling slightly*  
  
Rachel: ^_^ See. You're not pure evil. *Pats Bakura's head*  
  
Bakura: *Purrs then falls asleep in Rachel's arms, cuddling Bobo*  
  
Rachel: Aww, he can be really cute when he's not trying to steal all the Millennium Items, kill Yugi and me or take over the world! Anyway, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters etc. etc.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 3 - Fighting and flirting  
  
"Well well well." Bakura smirked. Rachel frowned. "Fancy meeting you here?" He spat, taking a step towards Rachel, Ryou and Yugi. His friends did the same. Ryou gulped, and Yugi let out a small cry of panic. Bakura smirked and walked towards the two small boys, cracking the knuckles of his left hand with his right.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Bakura's face was bright red. Through both embarrassment and anger. He scrambled to his feet and whirled around to see a very amused Rachel. He was going to explode. How dare she do this to him?! And for the second time!  
  
"You tripped me!" He spat.  
  
"Me?" she blinked, feigning innocence. "You must be mistaken. It was you who tripped over my foot. You're not hurt are you?"  
  
Bakura glared at her, silently fuming. He glanced over at his friends, Mai and Jou looked slightly worried, Honda and Anzu had looks of disbelief on their faces, and Yami looked highly amused.  
  
"What's so funny?!" Bakura was not in the best of moods right now, and he had no patience for this arrogant prick.  
  
"The fact that you have just been floored by a girl, and not one that wants you for pleasurable purposes. Then again, you haven't exactly been one for the girls have you, Bakura?" He chuckled, satisfied by the horror-stricken look on Bakura's face.  
  
"...S-speak for yourself, Yami!"  
  
"Ah yes, that may be so. But at least I'm not a closet homosexual." He smirked, aware of how angry he was making his friend. His attention was turned, as he realized someone was laughing uncontrollably. It was the new girl. He raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I'm s-so-sorry!" she choked, "I've never heard anything so funny!" She was clutching her stomach and tears were rolling down her face. Ryou also started laughing, but his laugh caught in his throat as Bakura turned and glared at him.  
  
"How dare you laugh at me you pathetic excuse for-"  
  
"Oh shut up already!" Rachel rolled her eyes, "You're starting to really annoy me!"  
  
"W-what did you say?!" Bakura was angry beyond words, all his friends but Yami had taken a few steps backwards, well aware of how dangerous Bakura was when he was angry. And none of them had seen him this angry before. Rachel smiled as Bakura glared at her.  
  
"I'm pretty sure you heard me." She leered.  
  
Ryou couldn't help it. The situation was too funny - Bakura being out- smarted and out-mouthed by a girl, a new one at that. He started to laugh again. Rachel smiled and winked at him. But Bakura was far from amused. He walked up to Ryou and punched him in the stomach, instantly knocking him off his feet.  
  
"That'll teach you to laugh at me," he growled; lifting his right foot, ready to bring it down onto his stomach once more.  
  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A sweet voice threatened.  
  
"Oh really? And what are you going to do about it?"  
  
"Do you really want to be on the floor for a third time?" she mocked, emphasising the word 'third'. Yami looked up, blinking slightly.  
  
"Third? But you've only floored him once so far, so that would make it the second time." He looked questioningly as a slow smile crept onto the girl's features.  
  
"Tsk tsk, Bakura. Someone hasn't been telling the whole truth to his friends, has he?" She grinned as Bakura had changed his position; he no longer had his foot above Ryou's stomach. Glad for the freedom, Ryou slowly got up and backed away, towards Yugi. Bakura was looking slightly wary, as his friends gave him curious glances.  
  
"Shut up, girl! I don't know what you're talking about." He shifted his weight uneasily and looked at Yami, who was very interested in the new topic.  
  
"What haven't you been telling us, Bakura?" Yami asked, pretending to be innocently curious. Not pulling it off too well, however, as he tried not to smirk.  
  
"It's none of your concern," Bakura snapped, glaring at Yami who was finding all this highly amusing.  
  
'Who knew a mere girl could get Bakura so worked up?' Yami thought to himself, 'I need to get to know this girl better, who knows the amount of fun I'll have with her and Bakura around at the same time.' He grinned, thinking ways he could get his friend back for all the times he had humiliated him. He was completely unaware a smaller version of himself was watching his every move, blushing ever so slightly.  
  
"Of course it's his concern, he's your friend, isn't he?" She smiled innocently as he turned his glare on to her. "And it isn't nice to keep secrets from friends." She shook her head, as if ashamed of Bakura. Bakura said nothing, just kept his ice-cold stare on Rachel, as if hoping to turn her to stone. "Well, I suppose getting your ass kicked by a girl isn't something you'd want to tell many people." She grinned, and looked around to see shocked expressions on all faces but Bakura's and Yugi's.  
  
Bakura looked mortified, whereas Yugi simply stood where he was, gazing at Yami who had still not noticed. It seemed he were unaware of the small boy's presence. Shivers went down his spine as Yami laughed, his deep rich laugh that seemed to ring in Yugi's ears.  
  
Bakura stood silently, glaring fully at the girl who was humiliating him in front of his friends. Soon the whole school would find out the toughest guy in school, exception of Yami, had been beaten by a new, strange, foreign girl. He took a step forward in Rachel's direction but was stopped as she wagged her finger in front of her as if saying, "Don't be stupid Bakura, I kicked your ass before and I'll do it again." Realising she was right he stopped, looking down, red from embarrassment and anger.  
  
"That's a good boy." She leered, enjoying the state of helplessness Bakura was in.  
  
"Don't think this is over, girl! This is FAR from over!" He yelled, storming into the school building. His friends followed quietly, whispering to each other.  
  
"Phew! I'm so glad that's over. I thought he'd never get the hint and leave." She smiled and turned to Yugi and Ryou. She turned around again as someone behind her cleared his throat.  
  
"Excuse me, girl?" It was Yami. Unlike his friends, he had stayed outside to talk to Rachel. She narrowed her eyes.  
  
"I have a name, you know." She didn't like the look of this guy. He looked cocky and arrogant. He sure acted that way, especially to Bakura. But that she didn't mind. She looked at him more closely and realized he looked just like Yugi. Except for the fact he was taller, had a more muscular build and his eyes were sharper and less innocent looking than her friend's. A slight frown appeared on his face, but was soon replaced with a small smile.  
  
"Yes, of course, I'm sorry. What is your name, by the way?"  
  
"It's Rachel. And I gathered from listening to your argument with that baka you're Yami?" He nodded, smirking slightly.  
  
"I was just wondering what it was you did to Bakura to make him act the way he did? I've never seen him so frustrated before, even when I humiliate him, how do you do it?" Rachel laughed at his honesty.  
  
"Well, he was bullying my friend Yugi here," She pointed towards Yugi who was finding the floor interesting as Yami glanced over at him, as if seeing him for the first time. "Who at the time wasn't my friend, but anyway... And I decided to intervene. I mean, come on, bullying someone smaller than you, it's hardly fair, is it?"  
  
Yami shook his head slightly; amused at the way the Rachel girl went about saying and doing things. Yugi made a small noise of protest. "Sorry Yugi, but you're not exactly the tallest person around, are you?" Ryou laughed slightly as Yugi snorted, sticking his tongue out at Rachel. She replied the gesture, and turned back to continue what she had been saying earlier.  
  
"Well, I went up to Bakura and told him to leave poor Yugi alone, but being the egotistical baka he is, he would have none of it. I guess he wanted to keep his 'bad-boy' reputation he appears to have or something. And I don't think he liked the way I was talking to him." She laughed slightly, "I guess I am kinda cocky. Anyway, he ended up going for me; I didn't think he'd actually try to hit me. But he did. So I had no choice to defend myself." She grinned evilly. "But I got a bit carried away..." Yami raised an eyebrow.  
  
"How carried away?"  
  
"Well... I grabbed hold of Bakura's hair and slammed him into a nearby locker." Yami winced slightly. "Twice." Yami chuckled; she sure had guts. "I guess he's not as tough as people think because he fell to the floor after that." She shrugged. Yami just stared at her with his mouth slightly open.  
  
"You knocked him out?"  
  
"Well...yeah." She finished lamely.  
  
"My God, not even I've been able to do something like that so fast." Rachel laughed and scratched her head, embarrassed.  
  
"Yeah, and I don't think he likes the fact I could kick his ass. So whenever he talks to me I have the advantage. Also, I'm pretty good with insults." She grinned, shrugging. "So I guess that must be what gets him frustrated." Yami simply nodded slowly.  
  
"...Rachel?" Yugi squeaked, then winced at the sound of his voice. It wasn't supposed to come out like that. 'Great. Now Yami is going to think I'm a total loser. Not that he probably doesn't already.'  
  
"Yeah, Yugi?" She asked, looking towards the two boys once more.  
  
"Registration is about to start. (A/N: Over here it's registration, I think it's Home Room or something...? Who knows!) And you're wanting me to show you round, aren't you?" He blushed slightly; realising Yami was listening in on their conversation.  
  
"Oh right, sure." She smiled at Yugi, and then turned to Ryou. "You're coming too, aren't you? I'd like to know which classes the three of us have together. I'd hate to be stuck in a class with a bunch of people I don't know. Then again, I've been at school for a day, and I'm sure I have a class with you." She smiled warmly at Ryou who just smiled back, blushing slightly.  
  
Yugi grinned at the pair and turned round, walking towards the school, humming the Wedding March. Rachel and Ryou's mouths dropped as they both blushed furiously.  
  
"Yugi!" They yelled at the same time, highly embarrassed at their friend's actions. It was Yugi's turned to blush, however, as Yami laughed. He thanked the heavens he had his back turned so no one could see.  
  
"I'll see you around, Rachel." He grinned, and then looked towards the two other boys. "And you two...uh..."  
  
"Yugi and Ryou." Yugi said, turning around to look at Yami.  
  
"Right, sorry." He smiled sheepishly. He blinked as he got a good look at the boy. It was like looking at a younger version of himself. How could he have not noticed this boy before? He was a lot smaller than himself, and his eyes were large and innocent, and his eyes were a deep purple colour, whereas his own were a ruby colour. Other than that, they were identical. He was even the same age as he was; this was evident by the uniform he wore. The white shirt, blue blazer, and blue pants. The small boy's cheeks were tinted pink, giving him an angelic look. 'This boy is quite beautiful. I can't believe I've never noticed him around before. I don't think many people have, apart from the bullies like Bakura anyway.' Anger welled up inside of him; he felt he needed to protect this boy from all harm. Such innocence should not be shattered. He chuckled slightly as he realised why Yugi was blushing. He was used to all the girls fawning over him, even though they knew that had no chance. Though he didn't understand why, he didn't think himself as anything special. (A/N: Aww, he's so modest!)  
  
"Are you two done staring at each other yet?" Yami was snapped out of his thoughts as an amused voice spoke. He glared at Rachel, but blushed as he realised he had in fact been staring.  
  
"I'm off to class now, later." He turned round and walked quickly into school, brushing past Yugi slightly. They both blushed at the slight touch. Yami simply shook his head and kept on walking. Yugi had a stupid smile on his face. Rachel grinned and waved her hand in front of his face.  
  
"Hello? Anyone there?"  
  
"Huh? Wha-?" Rachel chuckled at her friend and put her hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Looks like you've got it bad." She smiled and winked knowingly at Ryou, who nodded.  
  
"I don't know what you mean..." Rachel looked sceptically at Yugi.  
  
"Oh come on, you think you can hide something like that from me?! I have something called women's intuition. Besides, you've got love written all over your face!"  
  
Ryou laughed at how blunt Rachel was. Though it was true, his face was the colour of a tomato.  
  
"Don't talk to me about love, I've seen the way you and Ryou look at each other!" He stuck his tongue out, pleased at the reaction he got from the two of them - Once again, they were blushing furiously. "And you've hardly even known each other long!"  
  
Ryou looked at Rachel. Yugi had hit the nail right on the head. Although they had not known each other long, Ryou enjoyed her company. From what he had seen, she was funny, honest, caring and fearless. He admired her courage. She wasn't scared of Bakura one bit. Also, she was beautiful - Her long, silk hair, her deep hazel eyes, her curvy figure, and the tanned colour of her skin gave her an exotic look. He didn't understand that. She said she had been from England. But there was no way she could have a tan like that considering the atrocious weather. His skin was far from tanned. He'd have to ask her about that some time. His mouth opened in horror as he realised Rachel was staring right back at him with a questioning look on her beautiful features. Her cheeks were the same colour as his - bright red. She smiled cutely and walked up to him. Ryou's heart pounded in his chest as she neared him. She lifted her hand and closed his mouth gently and grinned.  
  
"Don't want to catch flies now, do we?" She whispered in his ear softly. A shiver went up his spine, but he was now blushing even more, if possible.  
  
Yugi simply watched on in amusement. He would have fun playing Cupid with these two. But for now he'd leave them alone. He smiled slightly and walked into school, knowing they would do quite fine without him for a while. Rachel wasn't in his first class anyway.  
  
Ryou and Rachel hadn't even noticed when he walked away, and Yugi hadn't noticed that someone was watching him from the far end of the corridor. The person followed him as he skipped in through the door that said, "Boys". He grinned as he noticed they were alone in here, and stepped purposely towards the boy.  
  
Yugi, who had only just realised someone was in here with him, whirled around and came face to face with amused eyes. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened.  
  
"Wh-what do you want?"  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Rachel: Oooh, a sort-of cliffhanger! Who is the mysterious person in the boy's toilets? Is it Yami, Bakura, or someone else? What does he want? *Cackles*  
  
Bakura: *Rolls his eyes* How dramatic.  
  
Rachel: *Narrows her eyes at Bakura* Don't make me hurt Bobo!  
  
Bakura: Ha! You have nothing against me now! I've hid him somewhere safe!  
  
Rachel: Ack, damnit!  
  
Yugi: I know! I know who the mysterious person is! It's-  
  
Bakura: *Puts his hand over Yugi's mouth* Don't ruin the plot!  
  
Rachel: So you do care!! ^_^  
  
Bakura: Uh...no...  
  
Rachel: *Huggles Bakura* You do! I know you do!  
  
Bakura: *Huggles back slightly* Okay, so maybe a bit... *Mumbles and walks off*  
  
Yugi: o_O;; He tends to do that a lot, doesn't he?  
  
Rachel: *Shrugs* Ah well. Anyway, sorry about not updating sooner! I've been ill! Well, I still am, but I just wanted to get this chapter over and done with. *Coughs all ill like*  
  
Bakura: *Walks back in disgust* You mean you've just given me your disease?!  
  
Rachel: It's not a disease! It's just a cold of some kind.  
  
Bakura: Whatever... it's still a disease...  
  
Yugi: You're so pathetic, Bakura! *Dodges as Bobo is thrown at him* Anyways, R and R please people!!! *Does cute puppy-dog eyes* 


	4. Rumours

Story - New and Weird.  
  
Written by Rachel, a.k.a. VoiceOfReason  
  
/\/\/\***/\/\/\ - Change of scene or time period.  
  
"Person speaking"  
  
'Person thinking'  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Rachel: Thanks for the reviews! ^_^ And since I don't want to die just yet...I'll continue.  
  
Bakura: *Rolls his eyes* They probably just felt sorry for you. I bet they hate your story.  
  
Rachel: You're so mean!! *Cries*  
  
Bakura: *Looks guilty* I--I...didn't mean-- ack, stop crying!  
  
Rachel: *Cries more*  
  
Bakura: *Mumbles* Gomen nasai...  
  
Rachel: *Sniffles* What...did you say?  
  
Bakura: I said I'm sorry, okay?! *Mysteriously has flowers that appeared from nowhere and shyly gives them to Rachel as an apology*  
  
Rachel: *Smiles* Oh, arigatou, Bakura! ^______^  
  
Bakura: *Shifts uneasily* Yeah, well...  
  
Yugi: *Keeps his distance from the two* Rachel does not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters in this fic. She isn't getting any money out of this, she's just doing it out of her own free will-  
  
Bakura: Because she has nothing better do to with her time.  
  
Rachel: *Starts to cry again*  
  
Bakura: *Alarmed* Gomen!  
  
Yugi: *Sniggers* As I was saying..don't sue, just read!  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 4 - Rumours Previous Chapter:  
  
Yugi, who had only just realised someone was in here with him, whirled around and came face to face with amused eyes. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened.  
  
"Wh-what do you want?"  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
"You know damn well why I'm here, little Yugi." Bakura smirked. He advanced towards the smaller boy, who was now shaking with fear.  
  
"Why can't you just leave me alone?" He sighed, closing his eyes as tears rolled down his cheeks.  
  
"My my, we've got courageous, haven't we?" He mocked, then suddenly turned deadly serious as he grabbed the boy by his collar and pushed him against a cubicle wall. He swiftly brought up his arm, but instead of hitting Yugi, he pressed his arm against Yugi's throat barely allowing him to breathe. "I'll teach you to treat me with disrespect!"  
  
"B-but, I didn't do anything..." he whimpered, opening his eyes slightly, only to be choked further as Bakura violently shoved him against the cubicle wall again.  
  
"Don't talk back to me, you worthless piece of shit!" He growled and put more force on the smaller boy's neck. Yugi whimpered again as he felt himself growing faint from the loss of oxygen.  
  
Yugi felt a small wave of relief as he heard the door slowly open and someone step inside. Bakura's head shot up, not worried who it was, just annoyed someone had the nerve to interrupt him. He smirked as he realised who it was.  
  
"Oh Yami, it's just you." Yugi's relief faltered. Yami. A friend of Bakura's. Now he would be hurt even more, no doubt.  
  
"What do you mean 'just me'? What are you doing, Bakura?" He narrowed his eyes and stepped forward to get a better view. He gasped as he realised Yugi was with Bakura. Not having a friendly chat, oh no. He snorted at the thought. The poor boy had been pinned up against the wall, in obvious pain, with tears streaming down his beautiful face. '..Beautiful? Since when did you care about anyone but yourself?' What was happening to him? He was confused. But he couldn't just stand there and watch the poor boy get beaten up by Bakura. He was sure Yugi had been through torture like this on many occasions. He looked at the boy, who was staring back with a pleading look in his eyes. Yami melted, he didn't quite know what he was doing, but he had to do something. He growled at Bakura and pushed him, startling the white-haired boy, causing him to remove his grip from Yugi and stagger across the room in confusion.  
  
Yugi fell to the floor, coughing due to the loss of air. He looked up to see the back of Yami, who was standing in front of him in a protective manner. Yugi then turned to look at Bakura, who had just regained his composure, looking extremely pissed. He gulped.  
  
"Yami, what the hell did you do that for?!" Bakura glared at Yami, who was standing in front of Yugi, glaring back defiantly.  
  
"Leave him alone." He said simply, "Or else." He left the threat at that, hoping Bakura would just leave, not wanting to get in a fight right now.  
  
"What are you defending that social reject for? Get out of my way, Yami! He was the reason I was humiliated today!"  
  
Yami sighed to himself; he knew things wouldn't be so simple. "Well if you hadn't picked on the boy in the first place, you wouldn't have been beaten up by a girl, tripped up, made fun of and humiliated, would you?!" He yelled, his patience wearing thin over his egotistical friend. He chuckled slightly, however. Even in a situation like this he made sure he made fun of Bakura. It was too hard to pass up.  
  
"Just shut up, Yami." Bakura hissed. Yami blinked. That was it? He just told him to shut up? Bakura sighed, highly irritated at his friend's intrusion. "I know you don't want to fight, Yami. I wouldn't mind slamming my fist into your face right now, though. However, we both know due to the...incident I was in yesterday, you could kick my ass easily." He narrowed his eyes. "Don't think I'll forget this, though, Yami. You may have saved this kid's hide this time, but neither you or that over- confident bitch will be around to save him all the time." He smiled a slow, evil smile. (A/N: Creepy! *Hides*) He turned and glared at Yugi. "This is far from over, brat." He said, through clenched teeth. "You just wait, I'll get you yet. Think yourself lucky Yami here has a soft spot for you." With that, he walked quickly out of the boy's toilets, muttering about how Yami was getting soft.  
  
Yugi just looked around dumbly, blinking. 'What just happened? Did...did Yami just save me?' He rubbed his small hand against his throat, hoping to soothe some of the pain away, but to no avail, he winced. He slowly looked up; realising Yami was still there with him. Purple eyes met crimson. Yugi made a small, alarmed squeak-like noise and looked at the floor.  
  
"I...I don't understand." Yugi whispered, his voice slightly hoarse. He dared not to look up from the floor, as if he had no right to look Yami in the eye. He eeped as Yami knelt down and lifted Yugi's chin up with his right hand. Yugi had no choice but to look in his eyes again.  
  
Yami wasn't sure what he was doing or why, but he felt he had to comfort the boy. "Yugi," He whispered softly, "Are you okay?"  
  
Yugi's heart pounded in his chest. He was slightly uncomfortable at the distance between Yami and himself. Or rather the distance that wasn't there. Not that he was too bothered; Yami was even more handsome close up. Not that he had thought otherwise. He felt his cheeks heat up so he squirmed to try to get out of Yami's grasp and his extremely intimidating stare.  
  
"I-I guess so..." He said weakly.  
  
Slightly satisfied, Yami released his grip and slowly rose to his feet, extending his hand to Yugi while doing so. Yugi just sat on the floor and looked at Yami's hand, blinking a few times.  
  
'God, he looks so cute when he does that...' He thought to himself, then shook his head slightly to get rid of his thoughts. "...Yugi? You're supposed to take my hand. You know, so I can help you up?"  
  
Yugi blushed furiously at his stupidity and took Yami's hand and was helped to his feet. He looked at the floor and mumbled a thank you to Yami. He tried to walk past Yami but he stepped in front of the boy, causing Yugi to walk into him. Alarmed, Yugi jumped back and blushed again. Yami raised an eyebrow at the action and Yugi's face went even redder - if possible.  
  
"Is something the matter, Yugi?" Yami asked, the amusement clear in his voice.  
  
"Why did you do that?" Yugi frowned, staring at his shoelaces.  
  
Yami opened his mouth to answer, then shut it again. Why did he do that? He wasn't sure himself. He shrugged. "Because I would like to accompany you to your next lesson."  
  
Yugi's head shot up as he heard those words. "W-what did you say?"  
  
"Because I would like to accompany you to your next lesson." He repeated, smiling down at the small boy as he blinked in disbelief.  
  
"Um, sure. I-I have Math."  
  
This time it was Yami's turn to blink. "You do? But...I have that class as well." Yugi shifted uncomfortably, and decided to look at the floor once more.  
  
"Yes, I know, I'm in your class."  
  
"You are? I-I didn't know that." He admitted sheepishly, slightly ashamed he had never noticed him earlier.  
  
"No one ever notices me." Yugi replied sadly, daring enough to look Yami in the eyes. Yami's eyes softened and his heart melted.  
  
"I'm sorry..." Was all he managed to say.  
  
Despite himself, Yugi laughed. "That's okay, it's not your fault I'm so small and pathetic."  
  
"Don't say things like that, it's not true."  
  
Yugi snorted. "Tell that to Bakura and Marik."  
  
Yami sighed and shook his head. "I may have to do that some time in the near future."  
  
Yugi's eyes widened in alarm. "No! You mustn't! It's bad enough as it is, say something like that and they'll kill me for sure!"  
  
Yami smiled softly and raised his hands, palm outwards in an apologetic gesture. "Okay, fine, if that's what you want." He said softly. Yugi merely nodded. "All right then...So, shall we get to class?" Without waiting for an answer, Yami took Yugi's hand and almost dragged him out of the toilets, much to Yugi's delight.  
  
/\/\/\***/\/\/\  
  
Ryou gulped slightly at how close Rachel was, unable to control the blushes that seemed to appear in the most unwanted situations. Trying to think of something to prevent making of fool out of himself, Ryou looked to Yugi; only to find he wasn't there. He blinked and looked around. Noticing this, Rachel did the same.  
  
"...Hey, where'd Yugi go?"  
  
"I don't know, maybe he decided to stalk Yami or something." Rachel laughed, making Ryou grin, pleased with the fact he'd made her laugh. Then again...that wasn't hard. He sweatdropped slightly at the thought.  
  
"I wouldn't put it past them. Then again..." She said slowly, as if in thought. "Yami did seem to be looking at him in the same way." Ryou nodded slightly. A scary, mischievous grin appeared on Rachel's face. Ryou gulped.  
  
"Uh, Rachel...? Are you feeling okay?"  
  
"Of course! I'm better than okay! Oh, don't you see, Ryou! They'd be so kawaii together! And I'm going to be the one that gets them together!" Her eyes were clouded over as she thought of the ways she could somehow get them on a date, her hands clasped together.  
  
"My God." Ryou breathed. Rachel was broken from her Cupid like thoughts.  
  
"Huh, what?" She looked up, to see a very frightened Ryou.  
  
"The l-look on your face, the way you're acting...it's terrifying!" He yelled, pretending to be horrified, hiding his face behind his hands.  
  
"Oh ha ha," Rachel scoffed, rolling her eyes. Which became clouded over once more...(A/N: *Sweatdrops* Hey! I would never do something like that! Er, well, at least not get all excited and misty-eyed...)  
  
"No, really." Ryou said, trying hard not to burst into laughter.  
  
"-push Yugi into Yami, yeah...that'd work..." Ryou sweatdropped once more as he realized Rachel had been ranting again. Sighing, he shook his head in defeat.  
  
"You're one strange girl..." Looking up, Rachel grinned.  
  
"Maybe so. But don't you agree they'd be cute together?!" She sighed, and clasped her hands together in the scary, gay-like manner once again.  
  
"Well, personally, I've never been good with things like that." Ryou grumbled, wanting to change the subject now. Rachel caught on this and smiled sweetly.  
  
"Hey, if you want, I'll keep my deranged thoughts to myself, okay? But if my eye starts twitching remind me to take my medication."  
  
Ryou laughed. "What a weird thing to say!"  
  
"I know, isn't it cool?!" She grinned at a very scared-looking Ryou, who simply laughed again.  
  
"If you say so..." He coughed slightly, as he realised they were getting strange looks from people walking by.  
  
Rachel looked at him and raised an eyebrow. She looked around and her gaze landed on someone who was staring at them oddly and yelled, "Hey, want a picture? It'll last longer!"  
  
"Rachel!" Ryou hissed as the person looked at Rachel as if she were a two- headed dwarf wearing a tutu. (A/N: What?! It's something odd, isn't it?!)  
  
"What?" She blinked innocently as Ryou gave an exasperated sigh.  
  
"How do you plan on making new friends if you scare them away like that?"  
  
"What are you talking about? I don't need new friends, I have you and Yugi!" She smiled and jumped up and down. Ryou simply looked on, still scared, but slowly getting used to the weird girl's antics.  
  
"But, we're not exactly the most popular people in the school..." Ryou mumbled sadly. Rachel just looked at him as if he were the crazy one.  
  
"Why would I want to be friends with them?" She scoffed, "They're stuck-up, arrogant, sadistic, mean, and...and stuck-up!" She grinned as Ryou raised an eyebrow, "I have the best vocabulary, don't I?" Ryou laughed and shook his head.  
  
"I'm surprised you even know what vocabulary means." Rachel was about to retort to the comment but stopped, and looked heavy in thought.  
  
"Ryou...?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"What exactly does vocabulary mean?" Ryou fell anime style. Rachel laughed, scratching the back of her head, clearly embarrassed.  
  
"I meant the dictionary definition!" She yelled in defense, pouting slightly as Ryou laughed at her stupidity. He stuck his tongue out at her and cleared his throat.  
  
"Vocabulary - The sum of words used by, understood by, or at the command of a particular person or group." Rachel stared at Ryou dumbly, her mouth slightly open. This time it was his turn to close Rachel's mouth with his hand. Rachel blushed slightly as Ryou grinned. She thought for a second, then frowned.  
  
"Stand up straight, feet together, arms outstretched." She ordered. Ryou simply raised an eyebrow. "Do it." She ordered once more.  
  
"Look, Rachel, I don't know about you, but I'm not one for weird sex games..." He laughed at the shocked expression on her face.  
  
"You hentai!" She yelled. Ryou cringed as more people turned their way.  
  
"Rachel, shhh!"  
  
Her face turned serious again. "Just do it, Ryou."  
  
Sighing, he did as she said. She slowly started searching him.  
  
"What the hell are you doing, Rachel?" He asked, slightly curious, and slightly embarrassed as she felt his body, searching for something.  
  
"Damn." She whispered to herself. "I didn't find one."  
  
"Find one what?" Ryou asked, once again scared by what she was doing.  
  
"A dictionary." She frowned. Ryou fell to the floor. (A/N: Anime style! ^_^ Bakura: *Rolls his eyes* I think they know that, Rachel! Rachel: Blah, shut up!)  
  
"What?" She asked innocently. "There was no way you could just know something like that without reading it somewhere!"  
  
"Some of us actually have brains, Rachel." Ryou teased as he brushed himself off. (A/N: He fell, remember? ^_^ *Covers Bakura's mouth before he can say anything*)  
  
"Hey!" She pouted, "I have one, too! It's just, er, mine isn't used that much heh heh..." She scratched the back of her head again. Ryou sweatdropped.  
  
"I think we better get to class now." Ryou said, smiling softly as Rachel groaned.  
  
"Ack, fine. What do you have first period?" She asked, glancing over Ryou's shoulder as he took out a piece of paper with his classes on it. (A/N: We have those...so I thought I'd put it in?)  
  
"Chemistry." Ryou said, frowning slightly. Rachel cackled evilly, then smiled innocently as Ryou stared at her.  
  
"Burning things! Yay!" Ryou sweatdropped (A/N: He seems to be doing that a lot.) at the scary look in her eyes; somewhat resembling the crazed pyromaniac we all know and love. (A/N: Well I know and love! ^_^)  
  
"I take it you have Chem, too?" He took her silent jumping up and down as a yes and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the school, mumbling about how foolish he was to have become friends with someone as deranged as she was.  
  
"Aww, you're so sweet, Ryou, holding my hand like that." He stopped dead in his tracks, causing her to fall into him. Resulting in them both on the floor with Rachel on top of Ryou. Ryou blushed furiously, and opened his eyes, which had been shut due to the fact he was going to fall. Rachel, who was also blushing, looked down at Ryou and laughed, not appearing to move any time soon. Ryou looked around to see people staring at them once again, he groaned inwardly.  
  
"Rachel, would you mind getting off me?! People are staring again!" He hissed.  
  
"Geez, what's with you and people staring? Why does it matter?" She rolled her eyes, still not moving.  
  
"Because I don't like a lot of unwanted attention." He replied uncomfortably, trying to get up, but to no avail as she pushed him back down again. "Rachel," he whined, "What are you doing?"  
  
"Giving them something to stare at." She whispered, giving him an impish smile. His eyes widened as she leaned towards him slowly, brushing her lips against his. She quickly got up and brushed herself off and looked around, grinning at the people staring at her.  
  
Ryou, who was still on the floor, also looked around, his face a bright shade of red as people started to whisper. He slowly got up and raised two fingers to his lips, letting them hover there for a second.  
  
"R-Rachel, why did you do that?" He asked dumbly.  
  
She giggled slightly, something he hadn't seen her do before. "I already told you, to give them something to stare at." She replied innocently.  
  
Ryou groaned. "You do know that rumours will be going round school now."  
  
"So what? Do I look like I care?" She frowned at how shy Ryou was.  
  
"In truth, I don't think you care about anything." He joked. She stuck her tongue out at him and grinned.  
  
"That's not true. I care about you, Ryou." She replied, a little too loudly for Ryou's taste. He frowned as he realised she'd done that deliberately. "You need to be more confident." She sighed, looping her arm through his as they walked towards Chemistry.  
  
"I like the way I am." He retorted. "And if that means I'm an insecure victim of bullying... then so be it." He removed his arm from hers and walked ahead of her to class.  
  
Rachel sighed and shouted after him. "Geez, Ryou, if I knew you'd get so upset about what I have to say I wouldn't waste my breath on you in the first place." She said sharply, and looked around to find people looking at her...again. She rolled her eyes and yelled at them. "Don't you people have anything better to do than stare at me?!" She pushed past the people and went in the direction Ryou had gone. Mainly because she had no idea where her Chemistry class was. She was angry with Ryou, all she had done was given him her opinion. He didn't have to get so stressed out about it. She sighed and decided to forget about him. If he was so sensitive it was best that they weren't friends, he wouldn't be able to tolerate her blunt honesty.  
  
Once she had found the room she walked in the class and looked around, noticing that people had already sat down. The room was made up of rows of wooden surfaces; the students were sat on stools. Currently there were no chemicals or Bunsen burners out. She searched the room for an empty seat.  
  
"Well well well," a voice mocked, "Looks like you're making an impression already. And not a very good one by the looks of it." He chuckled.  
  
Rachel whirled around to find the brown-haired boy from yesterday standing in front of her, this time in school uniform. She frowned. "I don't care what people think of me."  
  
"Obviously not. Seeing as you seem to be making a fool of yourself all the time. And I've already heard that you kissed Ryou, that's not going to give you a good reputation. Is it true?"  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him, hating the way he talked to her. As if everything about her was some sort of amusement to him. "Well that was a mistake. And it's not like it actually meant anything." She replied, looking over at Ryou who was listening in. He noticed she was looking at him, frowned and looked down at the desk.  
  
The boy smiled. "Well there's hope for you yet. There's a space next to me if you're looking for somewhere to sit."  
  
Rachel raised an eyebrow at his sudden change in tone. "Uh... sure?"  
  
"By the way, my name is Seto Kaiba." He said simply and walked to his seat. Rachel followed him in confusion. He sure changed moods quickly.  
  
"I'm Rachel Miller." She answered. "Do all the people here have weird names?" She asked innocently. To her surprise, Seto laughed.  
  
"Just because our names are different to yours, it doesn't mean they're weird." His amused tone was back again.  
  
Rachel shrugged. "I guess you're right."  
  
Before she could say anything else, a short, fat woman walked in. She wore wire-rimmed glasses that perched on the end of her nose and a dress that reached just below her knees, showing her stubby legs. It was an awful dress in Rachel's opinion; it had pale flowers all over it. It looked like it used to be some form of curtain. She also wore a pale blue cardigan that had grown too small for her. Rachel wrinkled her nose at the woman's appearance. There was no way this woman could be a Chemistry teacher.  
  
Seto caught her disgusted look and whispered. "And to think, I've had to put up with her all the time I've been here."  
  
Rachel turned to face him and noticed he had an equally disgusted look on his face. She giggled slightly and whispered back, "Poor you." Rachel cringed as she heard the teacher clear her throat from the front of the room.  
  
"Excuse me! I will not tolerate talking in my classes. You of all people should know this, Seto Kaiba."  
  
Seto frowned and nodded. "Yes Miss Higatsu. Sorry Miss Higatsu." He apologized.  
  
The teacher then turned her attention to Rachel. "And you must be Rachel Miller, the new student here at Domino High. Stand up so the class can see who you are."  
  
Rachel groaned and rose to her feet, hating the fact all eyes in the room were on her. Miss Higatsu sneered and spoke in the annoying, high-pitched tone that was her voice. "Class, this is Rachel Miller."  
  
"I think they know that, Miss. You did just say my name moments before." Rachel sneered back, already not liking this teacher. Seto snickered at her comment, as did others in the class.  
  
Miss Higatsu narrowed her eyes. "If there's something else I won't tolerate, it's wise cracks." She said sharply, raising her voice slightly. "And you will call me Miss Higatsu, not just Miss." She paused for a moment. "That is my name, by the way." She added dumbly, instantly regretting it.  
  
Rachel laughed out loud and added, "Really, Miss Higatsu? Is it some sort of new craze? Addressing people by their names?"  
  
Fuming, Miss Higatsu shouted at the disobedient student. "I will not take anymore of your cheek, young lady! If you have anything else to say you can say it to the Principal!" She took a deep breath to calm herself down, then continued. "I do hope you won't be like this all the time, or I may have to have you removed from my class. And it would be a shame for you to fail Chemistry so early in the year. Do I make myself clear?"  
  
Rachel rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Yes, Miss Higatsu. Crystal."  
  
"Very well, then. You may sit down."  
  
Relieved, Rachel took her seat as Miss Higatsu started giving instructions on what the class had to do for the lesson. Only half listening Rachel looked over at Ryou, who gave her a warning look. She glared at him and looked away. Did he expect her to behave just because some teacher threatened to kick her out of one crummy class? She snorted and looked back at the teacher who was explaining how Electrolysis worked. She sighed and wrote some notes down, willing the lesson to end quickly.  
  
/\/\/\***/\/\/\  
  
Deciding not to look for Yugi, as he'd probably be with Ryou, Rachel decided to eat her dinner outside, away from all the stuck-up 'popular' people she loathed. Plus, it was a nice day and she didn't want to be stuck inside. She sat underneath a tree and took her bag off her shoulders. She rummaged round, then cursed out loud as she realized she'd left her lunch at home. Today was definitely not her day.  
  
"Today's not been a great day for you, has it?" A voice asked, obviously amused.  
  
Rachel knew who it was even before she looked up. There was only one person she knew that spoke to her like that. Speaking her thoughts out loud, she replied, "Seto Kaiba." Chuckling, he nodded. He was stood in front of her, arms crossed with an amused look on his face. Definitely a sexy pose in her opinion. She frowned at her thoughts.  
  
"Am I intruding on your lunch or something?" He asked, his amused tone gone.  
  
"No, of course not. It's just, err..." She couldn't tell him what she'd been thinking; she'd die of embarrassment. "Never mind." She added quickly. "Besides," She continued, "I have no lunch. I kind of...left it at home." She sighed.  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "You can have some of mine if you want."  
  
"You sure it's no trouble?" She asked uncertainly.  
  
He took his bag off his back and sat down beside her. "Of course not. Besides, I don't need to eat as much as I'm given, and I have work to do." Before Rachel could ask what he meant Seto produced a small laptop that had a logo with the letters KC on it from his bag and turned it on. He then pulled out a lunchbox, opened the lid and placed it on the grass beside him. "Help yourself." He mumbled, engrossed in whatever was on his screen.  
  
"Thanks," she smiled gratefully and helped herself to a sandwich.  
  
They sat silently for a while, Rachel choosing certain foods from Seto's lunchbox as he continued his work.  
  
Frustrated with whatever he was doing, Seto frowned and slammed his laptop shut. "Uh...something wrong?" Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Sighing, Seto raked a hand through his hair. "You could say that. Running a corporation isn't easy, you know."  
  
Rachel's eyes widened. "You run a corporation?" She asked in disbelief.  
  
"You mean you haven't heard of Kaiba Corp.?" Someone from behind the tree asked.  
  
"No I haven't." Rachel replied, frowning, and looked up to see a tanned boy with long, light blonde hair and purple eyes walk round and stop in front of her.  
  
"Hey Marik." Seto grinned at his friend. Marik smiled and nodded a greeting.  
  
"Marik, Seto, Yugi, Ryou, Bakura, ack! So many str- I mean... different names, I'll never remember them all!" She frowned.  
  
Marik and Seto exchanged amused glances. "And what is your name?" Marik asked, in the same annoying, amused tone Seto uses.  
  
"Rachel Miller." She answered.  
  
Marik sniggered. "The Rachel Miller that's dating Ryou?"  
  
Rachel's eyes widened in alarm. "What?!" She yelled. "I am NOT dating him!"  
  
"Sure, sure." Marik mocked. Seto sniggered at his friend's comment.  
  
Rachel sighed and mumbled, "Stupid school rumours..." Frustrated, she rose to her feet. "Thanks for the lunch, Seto, but I'm not exactly hungry anymore." Before either of the boys could say anything, she had slung her bag on her back and walked off.  
  
"Way to go, Marik." Seto sighed. "You got her pissed off."  
  
"Hey," Marik retorted defensively, "It's what I heard, okay? What's it to you, anyway? Do you like her or something?"  
  
Seto glanced at the figure that was now quickly walking away, shrugged, and simply said, "She's different."  
  
Marik raised an eyebrow, but decided not to bother asking any more questions. He looked in Seto's lunchbox, took out an apple and took a bite. Seto shook his head and decided to give his work another try.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Rachel: Sorry it's been so long since I updated, and sorry that I didn't really end that chapter properly, but it was getting long! Also, my Internet broke so I couldn't update. I did think about e-mailing it to school and doing it there, but by the time I'd finished writing this chapter it was the Easter holidays. No school for 2 weeks, yay! But that meant no school computers to upload my chapter. *Shrugs* Ah well. R and R, please! ^_^ 


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